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Post by davebowman on Mar 26, 2019 10:35:53 GMT -5
Don't know if this would be an interesting thread, to maybe shed a little light on more random releases than just the newly released stuff?
After umpteen years of somehow missing out on it, I finally got hold of '1930' recently. I'd had 'Sphere' for donkey's years, but had somehow managed to miss getting the other Tzadik release. I kinda presumed it had been deleted years ago, just due to the age, but I actually managed to buy one new without much difficulty. After a couple of spins, I'm absolutely loving it - this may end up being one of my all-time favourites. Loads of variety, and a great mix of harsh and interesting sounds, plenty of layers and sounds panning all over the place. Anyway - what's your most recent Merzbow purchase, and your reaction to it?
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Post by acsenger on Mar 26, 2019 12:47:26 GMT -5
Good to see this thread! I recently got two Merzbow records: the "Hannover Interruption" LP and the split 7" with Smell & Quim.
I had never really seriously decided to buy HI until recently, because I assumed it was a live recording, which can be hit or miss (although Merzbow live recordings from the '90s can be really good). Then I found out it was only partly live, so I bought it for a reasonable price (and in great condition, luckily). And what a blast it is! It's still not really clear to me if side A is completely live or has live elements in an otherwise studio recording; the liner notes don't help: they're in Japanese, and the translation on Discogs doesn't make it 100% clear. There's some junk metal bashing (which I love) and some other interesting sounds in an otherwise continuous flow of harsh electronics. Actually, the same live recording (recorded at Lowell University in September 1990, during Merzbow's US tour) was also included on the "Great American Nude/Crash for Hi-Fi" CD, but I'm sure they're not identical tracks. Overall, side A is good, solid Merzbow, but side B is absolutely killer! It's obviously a studio recording (unusually, no date for it is printed on the sleeve, but it must be from '90 or '91, given that the record was released in '91) and it's really colourful and exciting. I can't really compare it to anything else Akita did around that time (perhaps the track "Crash for Hi-Fi" is somewhat similar, but side B of HI doesn't use samples). You can tell how fresh and exciting new electronics were for Akita and how they opened up new worlds for him.
The split 7" with Smell & Quim (from 1996) is literally a split: one channel is Merzbow and the other is S&Q. While not outstanding or containing surprises, it's a solid noise record, and the two bands' sounds gel well. There's no big difference between the two channels, but you can hear that Merzbow's material is a bit more hectic.
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Post by guineafowl on Apr 5, 2019 9:53:12 GMT -5
Technically, my newest purchase is Ikebukuro Dada. It's a great album - not one of my favorites, not all that special, but still solid. Nice, textured, straightforward laptop-noise release, that utilizes sample loops without coming across as a mainly rhythm-/melody-oriented work. I kinda think of Ikebukuro Dada as a companion-piece to Fantail, although it's definitely more atmospheric and dark than Fantail, especially with that dope-ass Burzum sample loop. I also love that smooth touch that the packaging has to it. The reason I said it was "technically" my newest purchase, is because while that's the last Merzbow album I've bought with my own money, it's not the latest addition to my collection. That would be Merzbuta, which I got as a present from my girlfriend for my birthday last year. It's such a fun album, I think it's one of the best rhythmic noise albums around. I'd even go as far as to say that either Merzbuta or Senmaida would've been more deserving of the "Merzbeat" title than Merzbeat actually is. One of the aspects I like the most about this record is how much the beats blend in with the noise. The two things don't feel like separate entities like on Merzbird on Senmaida, it sounds more like certain parts of the noise textures organized themselves into this simplistic, accessible structure.
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Post by acsenger on Jun 17, 2019 12:59:42 GMT -5
I recently got two 7"s: "Rectal Grinder", a collaborative EP with grindcore/noisecore band Gore Beyond Necropsy, and a split with Xome.
"Rectal Grinder" could almost pass for a solo Merzbow release as he clearly dominates. It was recorded between December '94 and February '95. There's no actual grindcore or noisecore here: what you get aside from the usual Merzbow music is growls on side A and a metal beat (though not a blastbeat, which would've been more stylish) and more growls on side B, all drenched in thick distortion. All in all though this a very good 7". It's quite varied, with the EMS playing a prominent role and a great metallic (as in the sound, not the musical genre) loop on side B's first track. There are several more interesting parts and textures on both sides. G.B.N. and Merzbow got together again in '96 to record a full-length album, "Rectal Anarchy". It's a great album (one of the first two noise releases I got, actually) on which G.B.N. play a bigger role, although mostly in terms of vocals. It's great to finally have its precursor EP, almost 20 years after I got "Rectal Anarchy".
The Xome side on the Merzbow/Xome split 7" is solid and fairly lo-fi noise, although far from outstanding. There's a short silly part between the two tracks that fits the front cover drawing of the Xome side. The Merzbow side is a "short mix" of "Efface", track 3 on the "Space Metalizer" album. The latter is nearly 19 minutes long, while the former is around 5 minutes. I thought "short mix" (as stated in the booklet of S.M.) meant some sort of condensation, or at least a different version, but (having listened to the two tracks consecutively) it seems that the 7" version is just the first roughly 5 minutes of the CD version. It would be better if it was different, but even as it is, it's a top-notch track. It's simply a great piece of noise with a lot of variety and, as usual, excellent sound.
I now have all the Merzbow 7" releases that I want to have and which aren't very expensive/impossible to get (which means there are two more I'd love to have but I might never get them).
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Post by andypandy380 on Jun 17, 2019 14:55:40 GMT -5
I'd like to get more Merzbow singles, although I've got a decent chunk of them and don't think I'm actually missing too many of the 'not so impossible to find' ones. I've had my eye on the White Blues single for some time. Haven't heard the the two you mentioned either but I too like the Rectal Anarchy album a great deal, I like how it's excessive in every conceivable way. I didn't realise that about the Xome split, it does seem strange to release a literal 'cut' from a longer track as a single, but I guess it still works as a shorter piece.
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Post by acsenger on Jun 17, 2019 15:52:22 GMT -5
You can’t go wrong with “White Blues”. While I like some of the other 7”s from that period more, it’s definitely a good release with some prog rock samples.
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Post by trollh on Jun 18, 2019 10:28:24 GMT -5
Last time i bought Konchukii special edition box set or Amalgamelody with MB. (Amalgamelody was been released in October, so thats it!)
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 24, 2019 16:08:21 GMT -5
It's been a while since I've bought a Merzbow album that hasn't been a new release, but I did recently pick up a copy of a MAZK album I was missing, the untitled one with Japanese singer Kiyono Koto on the front. I'd recommend MAZK, to anyone who isn't familiar with it - it's a collaborative project between Akita and Zbigniev Karkowski that tends to explore harsh digital sounds, the albums (I think) are taken from live performances and then chopped/screwed about with in the studio, they're surprisingly high fidelity recordings too. I found though that I didn't like this release quite as much as the other MAZK albums I've heard, there's a lot of variety, but not to the extent of the others. I don't know what kind of things were used to create the album, but there are passages that sound a lot like the sound chips in old Atari arcade games. The crystal clear production of the album combined with the pummelling electronics and some of the high pitched frequencies make for quite an uncomfortable listen when using headphones.
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Post by acsenger on Aug 25, 2019 3:07:22 GMT -5
I didn’t know the cover was lifted from another album. I wonder what the connection of an Enka singer to the MAZK album is? It’s been a long time since I heard it, but I don’t remember there being any Enka samples on it. My favourite MAZK album would probably be the first one, which is still analogue and which is more nuanced and less harsh than the later ones.
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Post by andypandy380 on Aug 25, 2019 4:48:16 GMT -5
Yeah, I didnt know that either, not sure what the idea behind it is - whether it's in tribute or a parody or some kind. The music itself is seemingly unrelated though. Apparently the some of the Japanese text means 'devil', so maybe there's something we're missing. Merzbow has done dimilar things with covers before, I can think of Caterpillar and Hiranya, there are probably loads more. I think the first album is the only one I don't have but I'm interested to hear it if it's a different style to the others.
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Post by acsenger on Aug 25, 2019 15:14:09 GMT -5
I definitely suggest getting the first MAZK album. I doubt you’ll be disappointed. It has a solo track by both musicians and a collaborative track. With regard to the covers of the two albums you mentioned, I guess there are samples on them from the bands the covers refer to: Catapilla and Jethro Tull. Or at least they’re prog/jazz rock bands, genres Akita is known to like. But Enka? That surprises me, although of course why couldn’t he like it?
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Post by rd1994 on Jun 19, 2020 7:18:33 GMT -5
I just made a mass purchase of 80 Merzbow releases. Some albums, some Eps, some boxsets in there. Once everything shows up I might throw a pic of my collection on here.
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Post by acsenger on Jun 20, 2020 11:51:15 GMT -5
80 releases? Wow. I'm interested in seeing a picture of them all.
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Post by rd1994 on Jul 8, 2020 5:55:10 GMT -5
so the first batch of stuff I bought arrived. Most of the reissues from menstrualrecordings. I love the music on them. But I can't believe how flimsy the sleeves are. The pornoise one was extra bad. basically you had the sleeve in one package and the CDs themselves in another. I asked the guy I bought it from if he did it for protection, but no thats how they came. Its not even a sleeve. its literally a folded piece of A4 cardboard that wraps around the CDs. Too bad its larger than a DVD case or I could put it in one.
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emgee
New Member
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Post by emgee on Jul 8, 2020 6:09:07 GMT -5
I keep the Pornoise cds in the Dying Mapa bag - both from Menstrual recordings.
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Post by rd1994 on Jul 8, 2020 9:45:02 GMT -5
I keep the Pornoise cds in the Dying Mapa bag - both from Menstrual recordings. Thats a clever idea. I think I'll just scan in the original art, resize it and then fit it in a DVD case for 6 discs (similar to Houjoue and the like)
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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 8, 2020 14:42:43 GMT -5
Yeah, that Pornoise re-release really pissed me off, the CDs simply don't fit inside that plastic sleeve, it's almost insulting that they didn't put it inside a box of some kind, one of those cardboard clam-shell's like A Day Of Seals or the Kapotte Muziek box set would have done the trick. I'm not sure why all of Menstrual's Merzbow albums come in plastic sleeves, not that I'm particularly against them, but they've put out plenty of other albums in digipaks. Putting the CDs inside a DVD case isn't a bad idea actually, I might look at doing the same since my copy is a bit crammed in with the rest of it. I'll also be interested to hear what other albums you got hold of!
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Post by rd1994 on Jul 10, 2020 7:41:13 GMT -5
In mostly alphabetical order: A Taste of..., Amlux, Anicca, Antimonument (both CD and 2LP), Aqua Necromancer, Arijigoku, Bariken, Batztoutai, Turmeric (incl. Black Bone Part 5), Bloody Sea, Cloud Cock OO Grand, Collapse 12 Floors, Dead Zone, Don't Steal My Coat, Dust of Dreams, Fantail, Great American Nude, Green Wheels, Hard Lovin Man, Here, Higanbana, Hodosan, Hole, hybrid Noisebloom, Ikebana, Ikeburo Dada, Life Performance, Live at Radio 100, Live in Geneva, Live Magnetism, Maschinenstil, Merzbear, Merzbird, Merzbuddha, Merzbuta, Merzzow, Minazo Vol. 1, Mini Cycle, Music for Bondage Performance 2, New Tamagahara, Noiseembryo, Noizhead, Oersted, Offering, Peace for Animals, Pinkream, Pulse Demon, Puroland, Rainbow Electronics, Rattus Rattus, Scene/Early Computer Works, SCSI Duck, Senmaida, Space Metallizer, Tauromachine, Tentacle, Venereology, Yoshinotsune, Hummingbird 7", Mode for Value and Intention 12", Electroploitation 7", Return of the Dead Man 7", Music from Simulation World, Collection 06, Collection 08, Dying Mapa Tapes I-III, the aforementioned Pornoise, Tint, Sha Mo 3000, Dead Leaves, Tempi/Matatabi, Camouflage
And thats just the new stuff not my entire collection lol!
Barely any of the above is here though, once everything is here I will share pictures in the proper thread
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Post by andypandy380 on Jul 10, 2020 14:38:09 GMT -5
Ah amazing! Some of those aren't easy to track down, Noisembryo, Cloud Cock OO Grand, Hole, Great American Nude etc are all quite sought after. Some of those 2000's albums are great too, Rattus Rattus, Scene, Sha Mo 3000, A Taste Of are quite underrated gems in my opinion.
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Post by rd1994 on Jul 10, 2020 14:54:29 GMT -5
Sha Mo 3000 is also the box set edition with the bonus CD and what have you. Also the antimonument vinyl happens to be #2 which I am pretty stoked about lol
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emgee
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Post by emgee on Jul 11, 2020 5:43:13 GMT -5
Any tapes?
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Post by rd1994 on Jul 11, 2020 10:52:51 GMT -5
Not yet. That said I AM on the look-out for the Dead Lotus tape in particular. Samidara aswell. Might get some others while I am at it lol (The Lampinak comes to mind)
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Post by davebowman on Oct 29, 2020 15:27:39 GMT -5
Just picked up 'Dharma' and am enjoying it - it's a little repetitive, but the way the main track is drenched in reverb and slowly pans around is very hypnotic. Also, I was quite embarrassed that it was only after a full week after owning the CD that the light hit the cover at a certain angle, and I suddenly realised it wasn't just a plain white cover after all, but had another image in gloss white printed on it - d'oh!
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Post by andypandy380 on Oct 29, 2020 17:57:45 GMT -5
It's probably time I revisited Dharma, I remember not being particularly struck on it but it seems to remain a fan favourite after all these years.
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Post by acsenger on Oct 30, 2020 12:16:43 GMT -5
I should revisit “Dharma” too. I remember liking it quite a lot, even though the shorter tracks are pretty simple, but they’re still good, and the ending of the final track is great (even if it goes on for a bit too long from memory): very psychedelic and hypnotic indeed.
I listened to a couple laptop albums recently: “A Taste Of...”, “Puroland” (one of his best laptop releases, I reckon), “Merzbuddha” (great heavy bass riffs) and “Frog+” (the album itself is good, but disc 2 with additional material is often too digital-sounding for my taste). Oh, and “Merzzow” too, which was the second laptop-era Merzbow I heard, in 2004, and has been a favourite since then. It’s very catchy and memorable.
I recently finally bought the “Pornoise” 6CD reissue. I hesitated for so long because the tracks from it that are included in the “Merzbox” are a mixed bag in my view, and after one listen, that’s how I feel about the whole release: some of it is good (for example the first track on disc 1 is absolutely savage metal junk noise), but sometimes the same loop goes on and on and on and nothing else happens. Overall, however, it’s good to own it, and I might warm up to it more with further listens. It’s a shame the label couldn’t come up with better packaging for it though, and the print quality of the covers is surprisingly cheap too.
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Post by acsenger on Oct 31, 2020 9:38:37 GMT -5
I listened to “Dharma” last night and I was wrong about the shorter tracks being simple: especially track 2 and 3 aren’t. The whole album is very cleverly made.
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Post by stalvern on Dec 11, 2020 14:11:45 GMT -5
I've been on a real Merzbow shopping spree lately, splurging on a lot of cool collector-bait stuff that I hadn't budgeted for before – Batztoutai with Material Gadgets, A Day of Seals, the Scene/Early Computer Works double package, the lunch box Turmeric with the shirt – and weird through-the-cracks albums like New Takamagahara and Pinkream. I've been ordering new from the labels when I can: Pinkream, Ouroboros, the No Funeral albums, probably Hatobana sometime after Christmas. Right now, I'm dying to have a clean copy of the 1991 Antimonument CD or Vibractance with the complete artwork, if anyone here is willing to part with them.
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Post by andypandy380 on Dec 12, 2020 12:20:47 GMT -5
Some very nice finds. I like a lot of those box sets you mentioned, Scene is a criminally underrated album too but I only have the basic card sleeve CD unfortunately. Hatobana is well worth tracking down, its somewhat of an odds-and-ends sort of album but there's some amazing material on it. With regards to Antimonument, I could be wrong but I think the CD version is an unofficial release, it comes in an oversized card book style cover exactly the same as Magnesia Nova (which is a well worth finding too if you've not heard it). Does a 'complete' version of Vibractance exist? My copy doesn't have a back cover, neither do others I've seen online, but I have seen comments that suggest maybe some did. It wouldn't surprise me if it was a myth and no copies had back covers.
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Post by acsenger on Dec 12, 2020 16:36:26 GMT -5
I’m pretty sure I once saw a picture online of a copy of “Vibractance” which had a back cover. Mine doesn’t have one either. And the CD version of “Antimonument” is a bootleg, hence the note “fuck! for Art Directe” in the booklet of “Venereology”. The label apparently didn’t pay any of the artists it had releases by. Incidentally, “Antimonument” also exists in two versions: some copies include an additional insert with notes. My copy unfortunately came without it.
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Post by andypandy380 on Dec 13, 2020 5:44:39 GMT -5
I've got a feeling mine has the insert. I'm not sure, my CD collection is still in my parent's house at the moment but I'm gonna check that out. This has reminded me of something only loosely related that I was going to post on another thread... Recently got a copy of Ambera Planeta Wawar by Aube which is listed on Discogs as an unofficial CD. There's a lengthy bit of text inside the digipak which loosely reads a bit like "we admire Aube as an artist but he's an asshole and screwed us over so we're releasing this album anyway against his wishes" Just thought that was a strange bit of behind the scenes gossip haha wish I knew more about what happened.
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